Like other members of the family Juglandaceae, butternut's leafout in spring is tied to photoperiod rather than air temperature and occurs when daylight length reaches 14 hours.

[citation needed] Trees with 2.1 m or 7 ft (over mature) class range diameter at breast height were noted in the Imnaha River drainage as late as January 26, 2015.

[citation needed] Butternut favors a cooler climate than black walnut and its range does not extend into the Deep South.

Its northern range extends into Wisconsin and Minnesota where the growing season is too short for black walnut.

Butternut's range includes the rocky soils of New England where black walnut is largely absent.

Butternut is found most frequently in coves, on stream benches and terraces, on slopes, in the talus of rock ledges, and on other sites with good drainage.

[8] Butternut is found with many other tree species in several hardwood types in the mixed mesophytic forest.

It is an associated species in the following four northern and central forest cover types: sugar maple–basswood, yellow poplar–white oak–northern red oak, beech–sugar maple, and river birch–sycamore.

Forest stands seldom contain more than an occasional butternut tree, although in local areas, it may be abundant.

In the past, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Tennessee have been the leading producers of butternut timber.

[citation needed] Although young trees may withstand competition from the side, butternut does not survive under shade from above.

The fungus is spread by wide-ranging vectors,[citation needed] so isolation of a tree offers no protection.

Butternut canker first entered the U.S. around the beginning of the 20th century, when it arrived on imported nursery stock of Japanese walnut.

Completely free-standing trees seem better able to withstand the fungus than those growing in dense stands or forest.

Symptoms include a yellow witches' broom resulting from sprouting and growth of auxiliary buds that would normally remain dormant.

The common grackle has been reported to destroy immature fruit and may be considered a butternut pest[10] when populations are high.

Approximately 60 grafted butternut trees were planted in a seed orchard in Huntingburg, Indiana, in 2012 as part of a larger effort by the USDA Forest Service to conserve the species and to breed resistance to butternut canker disease.

Butternut bark and nut rinds were once often used to dye cloth to colors between light yellow[4] and dark brown.

Bruised fruit husks of the closely related black walnut can be used to stun fish.